Road Cycling - Any Schwinn riders out there?

I bought a 1999 Schwinn Supersport at the end of 2000, when I was getting back into cycling. At the time, I thought it was a great find, but I really didn't know much about bikes then. Now two and half years and 16,000 miles later, I know what a great find it was. I was so lucky to find a great buy on a bike that fit me and had 105 components. BTW, the 7005 aluminum frame is holding up just fine.

So I just want to chat with other happy Schwinn owners. No, no, I don't work for Schwinn. It's just that I feel that most people I meet on rides are a bit snobbish toward my bike, so maybe we Schwinn owners should talk to each other.

I know that the "new" Schwinn company is associated mostly with its Walmart-type bikes, even though they still have a good line for bike shops. I am interested in hearing from folks who ride Schwinn road bikes from before the bankruptcy.

Actually, I found that the new company is pretty responsive. I wanted to know the rake of my fork, so I emailed them. I didn't expect much. Well, they had the info to me the next day.

Rich

In the process of rebuilding my 564.

In the middle of tearing it down:
http://2k2s4.portfolioland.com/cycling/images/schwinn_apart.jpg

Cleaned up and waiting for parts:
http://2k2s4.portfolioland.com/cycling/images/schwinn_clean.jpg

16000mi in 2.5 years, nice!! :thumbup:

I have a '00 Schwinn Paramount steel frameset that's waiting for enough money to buy parts for it :( but having worked for some Schwinn shops, I've had my share of Schwinns and have fond memories of each one... probably my ~1988 Voyageur full-touring bike has the most epic heritage in my mind, with many day tours all over our area, hair-raising descents of Mt. Spokane, shopping trips at college returning laden with 50+ pounds of groceries, trips between Spokane and Pullman on weekends with my dynamo lights... hehe, quite a relationship we had :)

The Schwinn name may have passed into a lesser realm, but the "real" ones are still nothing to be ashamed of. May you get another 16000 happy miles on yours :)

I have a Schwinn messenger bag I got... that's about it. But I love that bag!!!

I went to Europe last year, and Schwinn is still going strong out there for cyclists. I wonder what went wrong with their North American division?

:(

I almost picked up a Paramount frame when most of the shops/catalogs began having sales to clear out their inventory when news hit that Shwinn was getting bought out. I couldn't come up with the money quick enough, but I'm happy with the Lemond I ended up with.

I do own a Schwinn Moab produced before Schwinn was bought out. It was one of the first bikes I tested, but I liked it from the start. The components weren't stellar (LX/Deore/basic Avid), but the weight didn't kill me and I had heard only good things from other owners and from the major review sites. I had a frame worth upgrading and the bike fit me great so I went for it. My silver/red Moab 3 now sports a mix of XT shifters/XTR levers, brakes, and boosters/Thomson seatpost/aftermarket saddle/SPD's/and a new set of Michelins. I've gone from knowing almost nothing of the mountain bike world to racing and riding competetively. This bike has gone through some tough riding and the abuse that someone relatively new to the real challenges of the sport can dish out, and it has held up great. The only weak point was a poorly tensioned factory rear wheel that started breaking spokes after a season of racing (remedied by a shop-built Rhyno-Lite). This coming summer I am planning on competing in my first 24 hour race with Middi-Zon, another member here. The bike is now a few years old and I've started to look at a few FS models to replace it, but I don't plan on letting it go to get the new bike. It will always be the old stand-by hardtail for when I break something on my fancy new FS.

-Moab

I have a schwinn Le Tour II, circa 1978, and before that had aCirca 1968 Varsity 10 Speed. Both served well. My daughter's godfather uses my old Varsity as his beater bike today. I just got my son the Schwinn with the 24 speed Sora group, leftover from '01. It is well laid out. Even though the latest purchase and the Le Tour were only produced for Schwinn, it seems to me that they continue to have a philosophy of specing out bikes a little heavier than average but with high durability components. There were a lot of high end bikes made after my earlier two Schwinns which are no longer on the road.

I realize this is the Road Cycling forum, but my only Schwinn is a mountain bike. (My first bicycle was also a Schwinn -- a mid-1950s 2-speed middleweight.) About 2000 Project KOM-10s were built in Schwinn's Greenville MS plant during 1988 and 1989, when Schwinn was sponsoring Ned Overend's offroad racing team. I have greatly enjoyed riding mine during the 10 years I have owned it, and its Paramount red-white-and-blue paint job is a head-turner, particularly on national holidays.

I just bought a 1972 Schwinn Speedster (3 speed) made in Chicago from Ebay about two weeks ago. It cost me less than $80.00 including shipping and I've changed tires, tubes with a new chain and the bike rides like a dream. It's a heavy cycle but you can see the quality work done on the frame.

My Pacific Toy bike which stays on the streets in Midtown Manhattan is slowly dying as new squeeks and problems develope every week. I hope she lasts one more month so I can recover the costs as everything after that is money in my pocket. The toy bike shifts like a truck so I basically keep her in one low gear and ride her like a cruiser.

Once that bike dies, I hope to put the Schwinn Speedster to use as my new commuter in the city. The frame is solid steel so I expect this 3 speed will last a long time providing no one tries to take the bike. Even though it will be parked on the street day and night, I expect to get many months of service. Seriously, It's made like a Worksman bike..

What's so sad is that this 31 year old Schwinn Speedster was better made than my 27 speed Pacific mountain bike with dual suspension.

Thanks for writing, everyone. Koffee, where did you get that messenger bag? I want one for myself!

When I saw my bike in the shop the first time, I was excited because of the rep of some of the older models I remembered. I checked out the reviews on roadbikereviews.com and it really seemed like a good buy at $765. Then I read how to measure myself for bike fit and the 54 cm frame seemed just right. The test ride was great. I was also glad to have 105 components rather than Sora. Everything seemed to say yes, but I hadn't seen any Schwinn roadbikes being ridden in my area. Well, I had this gut feeling that this bike was meant for me.

I think that the hourglass seat stays and chain stays really do make for a softer ride and they look great. Eventually, I upgraded my Mavic CXP21 wheelset to the CXP33s on Ultegra hubs. When it was time to change my cassette and chainrings, I upgraded to Ultegra parts. So the ride is really great now.

As my cycling skills improve, I'll know what I want from a new bike, but for right now my Schwinn Supersport more than meets my needs.

Rich

I have a Schwinn mountain bike I got when I was 10 years old. I am now 25 and the bike is still awesome. I haven't done much to it over the years. Now my girlfriend rides it. She bought one of those Target bikes and broke it in 2 rides. So, back to the faithful Schwinn. I know it's not a road bike, but I thought I would attest to the quality of the "old school" Schwinns.